Kristian: 3 things that stood out in Saints vs. Texans

A solid outing for the Saints down the road in Houston, and it was nice to see a good showing by the Who Dat Nation. There was a lot of Black & Gold in the stands at Reliant Stadium.

Here are three things I took away from Sunday’s preseason game #3:

1)Rob Ryan’s defense is for real. I think fans and analysts alike are now pretty confident that we won’t see a repeat of last year’s historically bad performance. Against the Raiders is one thing, but to have a good pass rush against the Texans is quite another, and the Saints show that they can get it done. As the Cajun Cannon says, they showed a “bend but don’t break” attitude at times, they were good on 3rd down, in the red zone, a goal line stand, and stopping the Texans on a 4-down situation. They also held Houston to three field goals that could have otherwise been 21 points.

2)Never say die: I thought it was a good test that both the offense and defense faced some adversity early and battled back. The offense started out with rough field position, but they shook off the rust and got going. Drew didn’t play as long as some fans would have liked, and as long as some had predicted, but c'mon...we’re talking about Drew Brees in a preseason game. Sean Payton saw all he needed to see. The sooner he got pulled, the better. (Just look at the Jets' Sanchez debacle.)

3)Work to do: Despite being 3-0 in the preseason for the first time since 2009, we learned that they're not quite a finished product yet. They still have some things to work to do on both sides of the ball before the season opener against Atlanta, now less than two weeks away.

Coming up: Thursday’s preseason game against Miami will be the final chance for bubble players to make an impression. You should not expect to see any starters play at all…I expect the backups will go the whole way. Ryan Griffin will likely start under center and go the whole way, though It’s clear to me that the backup QB position has been locked in by Luke McCown.

Olsen started for Evans and got beat like a drum. When they went with Lelito blocking improved and offense started to click.

08/26/2013 1:33PM

Improved defense

Much improved, but still have a long way to go. Defense got torched in the running game and secondary was taken to school by Andre Johnson!

08/26/2013 1:56PM

DEFENSE

I am sorry, I am a die hard fan, season ticket holder, but, the defense still looks awful. I agree they have generated more of a pass rush, but they cannot get off blocks, still have very shoddy tackling, and Roman Harper and Malcolm Jenkins consistently take bad angles and suffer in coverage.

08/26/2013 1:57PM

Only happens when your not going 100%

Still trying to figure out this love affair that the team has with Mr. Smith.
Cut him and bring in a D Ware or A Smith type.
Someone who moves in a way that can't be coached.

08/26/2013 2:04PM

Start Vaccaro Immediately!

I'm sure I'm not the only one that's noticed how aggressive Kenny Vaccaro has been so far. He has a nose for the football and if he doesn't lead the team in tackles, he's not far behind.

08/26/2013 2:43PM

Saints lose Will Smith

For the season, not good news. Are there anymore free agents out there??

08/26/2013 4:17PM

Smith loss not the end of the world

The Saints were using Will Smith in a non traditional role and he just looked out of place all the time. For one he could not cover backs in space but also 280 lbs is way too big for a OLB. The position is made to be played by a more athletic player who is used to playing outside linebacker. Just wait for Junior and/or Martez Wilson to come back.

08/26/2013 6:07PM

Richard Seymour

I say bring in Richard Seymour and push Cam to end

08/26/2013 6:09PM

Leadership

Will Smith may have lost a step and been out of position but we will miss his leadership!! Just like Vilma!! Who Dat!!

08/26/2013 6:18PM

Aaron Curry

Aaron Curry is a fa and should be contacted immediately. Please!!!

08/26/2013 9:27PM

Depth

Across the board the difference was like day and night. The Texans are a couple injuries away from being average at best.